Most "steels" only realign the blade edge...
Blades need "sharpening" every now and then too...
I think you will find that it is by design that steels realign. Nothing to do with value for money...Cheap Steels only realign the blade but good ones should sharpen them.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_best_way_to_sharpen_a_knifeContrary to the popular belief, butcher's steel is not a sharpening device, but is designed to realign the deformed edge, which (deformation) is the primary reason of the knife dulling.
http://zknives.com/knives/articles/wssteeling.shtmlSteeling, and stropping for that matter, are very simplistic procedures, very useful and helpful, but very misunderstood and when performed incorrectly become very destructive for the edge. Steeling being the more misunderstood and abused of those two. Although, those two processes do serve the same purpose, both very often are mistaken for sharpening, which is a completely different process.
http://blog.metrokitchen.com/knife-sharpening-honing/The first thing to remember about sharpening knives is that there is a difference between sharpening and honing. You have probably seen plenty of sharpening steels around that are made from stainless steel. It’s more accurate to refer to these “sharpening steels,” as a “honing steels,” based on their purpose. Honing steels...are actually meant to realign a knife’s edge to the center.